Colorado glider flying (caution wake turbulence Starship Enterprise)

TangoWhiskey

TangoWhiskey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Feb 23, 2005
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Midlothian, TX
Display Name
3Green
Home Airfield
KJWY - Mid-Way Regional
My ex-777 pilot friend (now retired, still my friend) has been enjoying re-learning his glider skills from many years ago. He sent me this story and pictures today, and said I could share it here:

The weather was good enough to do some flying Saturday. Turned out it's been over a month since I flew last and I needed the practice since I'm still not totally comfortable in the glider environment. Actually found some weak thermals to play in for a while, so the flights weren't quite as short as before. I got two hops in, about 20 minutes each, with an instructor. One of these days I'll feel comfortable enough to solo.

A couple of notes on the pictures: The sequence where you see the glider diving out of the sky and landing was a practice rope break at 200' where the guy cranked it around in a 180 and put it down.

The last picture is of the Star Ship Enterprise de-cloaking over the Rocky Mountains :-)

Stan

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Troy,


Where does he fly out of? Is it along the Front Range?
 
i dont see the pictures troy. sounds like your friend is having fun though.
 
Anthony said:
Troy,


Where does he fly out of? Is it along the Front Range?
Click to expand...

Yes, along the Front Range. http://soarbfss.org

That's about 30 miles south of Centennial. Their gliders range from $15/hr (Schweizer 1-26 single seater) to $35/hr (for the high-performance two-seater). A tow costs $16 for the first 1000', and $10 more for every 1000' above that. As you can see, they use a Pawnee for the tows.

Here are some more pics he sent me in October, when he first went out to check out the operation. You can see the strip in the third shot:

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Yeah, thought that may be Kelly. There is another glider club close by to there at Meadow Lake. Great pics. Thanks for sharing.
 
i can see the thumbnails but not full size images on your photobucket site. im using wireless at the airport and bet thatst he problem. will try again when i get home.
 
I see all the pics and they are huge (larger than my monitor screen).

That pic of the "Enterprise" is a good example of a lenticular with vertical expansion.
 
im at home now, can see the pictures. great shots. i love that perspective from behind the glider/towplane combo with a crosswind. the glider crabs into the wind while staying straight behind the towplane until the towplane becomes airborne, then falls into position behind it.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Yes, along the Front Range. http://soarbfss.org

That's about 30 miles south of Centennial. Their gliders range from $15/hr (Schweizer 1-26 single seater) to $35/hr (for the high-performance two-seater). A tow costs $16 for the first 1000', and $10 more for every 1000' above that. As you can see, they use a Pawnee for the tows.
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Kelly is not too far from where I live. In fact I know someone who tows and instructs out there. A number of years ago I took an intro ride there. They also put me to work right away. I remember running beside the gliders holding a wingtip as they started the tow. It was interesting but at the time I didn't have many weekends off which was pretty much the only time they flew so I never got into it.
 
Great shots!

In that first one, it looks like there are two gliders on tow lines to the same plane simultaneously. I must be misconstruing it, because that seems incredibly dangerous if a rope breaks or something.
 
Actually, 2 glider tows aren't that big a deal. Planning, care, and caution of course but not uncommon.

In that photo I suspect they are just taxying them but it's doable in flight too.
 
Fun photos!


Must be nice... it's snowing here again, and I haven't got any air under my butt since before XMas. :cryin:
 
wby0nder said:
Actually, 2 glider tows aren't that big a deal. Planning, care, and caution of course but not uncommon.

In that photo I suspect they are just taxying them but it's doable in flight too.
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Huh, I never knew that and, as I said, I'm surprised. I guess the one with the shorter lead would have to always stay above the other so that, in case of a rope break on the longer one, it doesn't get tangled in their controls as it falls.
 
i suspect a multiple glider tow would take at least the same coordination and planning as a multiple aircraft formation flight. I dont know what the record is, but this has to be close:

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Cool pics, Troy! One of those first ones is an illusion and makes is look like the glider is pulling the Pawnee. ha!

In Tony's pics, what kind of plane is doing the towing? It looks like a Wilga or something obscure like that.
 
CJones said:
Cool pics, Troy! One of those first ones is an illusion and makes is look like the glider is pulling the Pawnee. ha!

In Tony's pics, what kind of plane is doing the towing? It looks like a Wilga or something obscure like that.
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I'm thinking it's a Let (Polish ag/utility plane) but I could be wrong. That's a lot of gliders!!:eek:
 
Man I've seen that photo before, and it never ceases to amaze me. The guy closest to the tug is gonna have a pretty busy time being on a 50' tow rope though!
 
vontresc said:
Man I've seen that photo before, and it never ceases to amaze me. The guy closest to the tug is gonna have a pretty busy time being on a 50' tow rope though!
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LOL, no kidding... and what fun it must be to untangle that mess after the towplane brings the ropes back! :frown2:
 
That reminds me. One of my gliding buddies got to do his checkride on a 100' tow rope. Apparently the rope broke right before he was supposed to go flying with the DE. the DE looked at it, and told the club to just tie the ring to what was left of the tow rope:yikes:.

I heard it made for an interesting couple of tows :rolleyes:
 
While we are on the subject of gliders. I came across this nice ridge video today...

 
tonycondon said:
i suspect a multiple glider tow would take at least the same coordination and planning as a multiple aircraft formation flight. I dont know what the record is, but this has to be close:

20060612007_rekord_big.jpg
Click to expand...

A friend sent me a VIDEO of the multiple-tow pictures that Tony posted...

 
Zlin's are built in the Czech Republic, not Poland, FWIW.
 
Neat video. They certainly didn't seem to be climbing very well, though. I didn't see that they ever got above pattern altitude!
 
gprellwitz said:
Neat video. They certainly didn't seem to be climbing very well, though. I didn't see that they ever got above pattern altitude!
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I noticed that, as well... they didn't clear those buildings by much, and they'd been airborne for a bit by then.
 
Nice photos and video, The weather looks like it will break for me this week on Wednesday. Let me check my schedule, yep I am free looks like I will be flying the ridge in the Jantar after a few hops in the Blanik!
 
Great Pics!!!

I've been looking at BFSS as a possible retirement location, thanx for the pictures.
I've got about 10 more years before retirement.

But they have this winter time occurance called snow.
 
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